Turnabout Closure
by jordypordy10
Summary: After Trucy is accused of murdering Phoenix, it's up to the remaining members of the Wright Anything Agency to clear her name and find out the truth. Sequel to Turnabout Termination. Spoilers for Dual Destinies and Apollo Justice. Will probably include spoilers for basically everything else too.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Accusations_

The Dark Age of the Law had ended years ago, but today the light that had shone forth was eclipsed by despair. Phoenix Wright, the man responsible for clearing the law's good name, had been murdered.

His daughter had found him slumped over his desk, a knife protruding from his neck as blood pooled onto the floor below. The rest of the day's events flew past her and it wasn't until she was surrounded by her friends that Trucy was able to regain her composure.

Apollo Justice, Maya Fey, Athena Cykes, honorary member Miles Edgeworth and herself- they were the Wright Anything Agency now. Athena wasn't currently with them (she had been studying in Europe), but once she arrived, Trucy knew that they would be unstoppable. And as the sound of their simultaneous "objection!" resounded around them, she felt something she hadn't felt all day: hope.

Maya grinned widely and thrust her fist into the air in triumph. "Hell yeah!" Trucy and Apollo soddenly found themselves up next to her as she wrapped her arms around their shoulders and pulled them into a sort of group hug. "We're back in business!" The two siblings couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

"Well, I suppose it's time we head into the office to investigate." Edgeworth suggested. He looked over at Trucy, who had freed herself from Maya's grasp. "Will you be all right? You can stay out here if you want."

Determination alit in Trucy's eyes as she shook her head. "I'll be fine Uncle Edgeworth. Don't worry." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Trucy turned on the heel of her boot. She would have began walking too, if not for a big man in a green trenchcoat blocking her way. "Oh hi Gumshoe! Almost walked right into you. How's the investigation going?"

Avoiding her gaze, Gumshoe replied quietly. "I uh, I don't really know how to say this pal but…" He pulled some handcuffs from his coat pocket and raised his voice as he finally met Trucy's gaze. "Trucy Wright, you're under arrest on suspicion of murdering Phoenix Wright."

"_WHAT!?" _Maya and Apollo yelled their question at the same time as Trucy gasped in shock.

Trucy's brother ran to her side in a panic. "Wh-what do you mean 'on suspicion of murdering Phoenix Wright'? Do you even realize how ridiculous you sound?" His voice gradually grew louder as he spoke. "On what grounds can you even make that claim?"

"Glad you asked, pal!" Gumshoe huffed as he pulled a small notebook from his chest pocket. "Now let's see here… ah here we go. The murder weapon was determined to belong to a set of throwing knives that could be found in the main office. We also found a magicians glove covered in blood near the desk the murder occurred at- which would explain the lack of prints. And-"

"That-that's all just circumstantial!" Apollo was full on shouting now. "Anyone could have used those knives or gloves! Trucy keeps all her magic stuff in the main lobby!"

The detective's formerly confident stance changed as his shoulders slumped. "Yeah that's what I thought too, pal. But…" He sighed and frowned deeply. "There was a witness who saw the moment of the murder." This piece of information was met with shocked silence. "I didn't want to believe it either but… it's the way the cookie crumbles, pal."

"No no no no no this has got to be wrong! You have to be mistaken-"

"Polly." Trucy's soft spoken words cut of his ramble. She turned to him and grinned sadly. "If this is the way it has to be, then so be it. You know I'm not lying when I say I didn't do it." A quick glance at his bracelet and a small nod from Apollo confirmed Trucy's thoughts. "I know you'll be able to find the truth. You, Mommy, Athena and Uncle Edgeworth." She turned to Gumshoe and took a deep breath. "With you as my lawyer, I know I'll be okay."

The cuffs clasped around her wrists and Gumshoe led her away in silence. The remaining three of them watched somberly as the police car they entered drove away.

Silence befell them for a few seconds as they processed what had just happened. Maya was the one to break it. "Edgeworth…" Her voice was cautious. "You're still going to prosecute this case, aren't you?"

When Edgeworth replied, his voice was hard and cold. "Circumstances have not changed." He crossed his arms and tapped his fingers against one of them. "I will prosecute Ms. Wright as if she were any other convicted felon- to my fullest extent." He glanced at Apollo, who was glaring back at him.

"Now, if excuse me, I'm needed at the detention center." He started walking away but stopped in front of Apollo. "I wish you the best of luck in your investigation, Mr. Justice." He held out his hand and grinned.

A new sense of determination surged through Apollo as he grabbed Edgeworth's hand and shook it forcefully. "And I look forward to seeing you in court tomorrow, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Consider the feeling mutual." Letting go of his hand, Edgeworth walked towards his expensive looking sports car. He gave one last glance over to the two of them before entering his car and driving away.

Maya groaned and ran her hand down the front of her face. "So much for the Wright Anything Agency… We don't even have a Wright anymore." She turned to Apollo. "Either way, I guess we should start our investigation."

They walked towards the office and were surprised at how easy it was to get in. "Maybe Edgeworth called and put a good word in for us?" Maya suggested with a laugh.

The inside of the office was abuzz with investigators, to the point where Apollo briefly wondered if they would even have anything to investigate for themselves. After inquiring about if they had any space to an officer at the front door, they were pointed in the direction of the desk.

The approached it slowly, almost reluctantly. Apollo looked away at the sight of body outline. Maya placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah." He swallowed and his voice cracked cracked slightly. "I just saw him working at this desk yesterday. I keep forgetting he's gone."

"Well, we gotta keep him alive in memory. And what better way to do that than by doing what he did best: investigating!" Her lack of sadness initially confused and kind of angered Apollo before remembering she had gone through this before with her own sister. Judging by how Phoenix had described that case, Maya was grieving in the same way now as she had been back then.

"I thought his special talents was yelling 'objection'. And cross-examining animals." He had a snicker in his voice as he said the last bit.

"Fair point." Maya was opening and closing drawers in the desk in rapid succession. Apollo followed her lead, kneeled down and opened the bottom most drawer. He pushed through the contents- mostly just papers and pencils. His fingers traced over something metallic and he pulled out a golden chain, the kind you would wear as a necklace. It was probably a spare one for Phoenix's locket. The thought made Apollo's heart sink; it was probably covered in blood now.

"Find anything, Apollo?" Maya's voice drifted into his ears.

He sighed and placed the chain back in the drawer and closed it. "No. Not yet." His eyes scanned the bottom of the desk as he spoke, in hopes that maybe he would find something. "Hey, what's that?" A suitcase had caught his attention. It was tucked away under the desk, almost unseeable in the shadows. He reached underneath and pulled it out.

"What you got there?" Maya questioned as she knelt down next him.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen this before." Which was odd in and of itself; Apollo knew basically every corner of the agency and everything that was in it at this point.

"Well don't just sit there, open it!"

Apollo flipped open the top and both gasped at its contents. Inside were papers splattered in blood.

"Oh my gosh!" Maya placed her hand over her mouth in shock. "These papers...they're covered in blood!"

Nodding, Apollo picked up a handful of the papers. The blood had dried so he didn't have to worry about getting it all over himself. "The splatters aren't just on the top either; they're scattered throughout. Meaning someone rummaged through this after Phoenix was killed." But for what reason, he had no idea

Maya leaned over his shoulder to look closer at what was written on the papers. "Hey, this one is a newspaper article about that Phantom case a few years back." She grabbed her own handful and began to flip through them. "This one is a police report about the UR-1 incident...and this one is...a copy of Bobby Fullbright's autopsy?"

They exchanged confused glances and began to sift through the contents of the suitcase together.

"Everything...everything in here is about things relating to the Phantom." Apollo ran his hand over his hair spikes as he spoke. "What on earth would he do with all of this?" He glanced at his partner to see her eyes wide in fear. "Maya?"

"Apollo…" When she turned to face him, her face was pale. "What if he was trying to figure out the Phantom's true identity? Or the organization he worked for? What if...what if Nick found out too much?"

"What are you saying Maya?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Apollo," Maya's voice was hardly more than a whisper. "I don't think Nick was just murdered. I think he was assassinated."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Investigations of the Scientific Nature_

"A-assassinated?" Apollo reeled back in shock as he repeated the word. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Maya's eyes cast down towards the suitcase again, "what if the Phantom's organization had been following him since that trial? He brought down an international spy after all. What if Nick was about to find out too much… and they had to keep him silent."

"I…" He couldn't think of a response. It made a lot of sense, when he thought about it. But he couldn't help but wonder why Phoenix had kept all this a secret from everyone.

"What'cha guys looking at?" A sudden voice from behind them made the two partners jump in surprise. Apollo dropped the case to the ground and papers spilled out of it.

Apollo whipped his head around and glared at the intruder. "What on earth are doing here Ema?"

"Glad to see you too, Apollo." She laughed dryly. "I'm doing detective work; why else would I be here?"

Ema Skye had been an acquaintance of Phoenix- and by extension the whole agency- for years after he helped her out in a trial. Always having dreamed of being a scientific investigator, her dreams were crushed when she failed the test to become one officially. Now a detective for criminal affairs, she was no longer bitter about her new job but always used science whenever possible.

"Oh hi Ema!" Maya smiled warmly at her as she scrambled to pick up the papers strewn about on the floor. "Long time no see."

Grinning, Ema nodded at her and smiled back. "Same to you, Maya."

"Wait wait wait." Apollo shook his head in confusion. "I thought Gumshoe had been assigned to this case."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Ema pulled out a bag of Snackaroos and began to munch on them. "Well yeah but he's out right now. I've been assigned to cover for him 'til he gets back. Now, you didn't answer my question- what'cha got there?"

"Why should we tell you? You'll just blab your mouth to the prosecution." Apollo leered at her.

She laughed again. "I'm _technically _not officially assigned to this case; just covering for Gumshoe." She put the bag of snacks back into the purse she carried with her. "So I'm allowed to help you out."

Before Apollo could reply, Maya stood up and presented the case to Ema. "We found this case under Nick's desk. It's full of documents about the organization the Phantom was part of. Some of the papers are splattered in dried blood." She smiled as Ema took it from her. "Maybe you and your science can help us out a bit."

Without opening it, Ema inspected the suitcase from all sorts of angles in an almost bored manner. When she heard Maya's suggestion, she visibly perked up. "Hmm maybe…" She stuffed the case under one arm and began digging in her purse with the other. "Ah here we go!" A spray bottle appeared from in her bag. "Good ol' luminol spray. Maya could you hold this for me?" She handed her the suitcase again.

Putting on her glasses, Ema instructed Maya on what to do. "Kay, just hold it out like that. Yeah, that's good! I might get a bit on you, just as a heads up. It's not dangerous so don't worry." She sprayed the side that was facing her with luminol. "Hm, nothing. Maya, could you flip it around for me?" She sprayed the other side once Maya flipped it over and grinned widely. "Just as I thought! There's some blood on here."

Apollo stood up and Ema gave him her glasses. The world turned pink and the streaks of blood suddenly came forward. It wasn't a lot, but it certainly was there. "Looks like someone tried to wipe it away." He mused aloud.

"I was thinking the same thing." She took her glasses back from him and placed them upon her head again. "But why? There was a lot of blood in other places that they left behind."

"Maybe it's not Nick's blood?" Maya suggested. "I mean, what if that's the killer's blood? They could have wiped it away so that we wouldn't be able to do blood tests on it."

"You might be right!" Putting the glasses back on, Ema examined the case again. "There's _just _enough blood left over that we could get a blood test." She glanced at the two of them. "Would you mind if I sent this down to the lab? I promise I won't let Edgeworth get his hands on it."

Maya nodded in confirmation. "Of course Ema! Thanks so much for the help."

"Wait, before you hand that off…" Apollo looked around quickly and took off towards a drawer in the corner of the room. He came back with a folder. "Would you mind if we could keep a hold on the contents of it? It could end up being really important."

"Yeah, sure." She opened it and handed off the papers to Apollo. "I'm just going keep one of the papers that have a blood splatter on it. For comparisons sake." He nodded and put the papers she had given him in his folder.

She turned and walked away. After a brief discussion with an officer on the scene, she gave him the suitcase and returned to where Apollo and Maya were standing.

She grinned triumphantly. "You're all set. The results should be done by the time the trial starts tomorrow." Her smile disappeared and she gazed up at the ceiling. "Hopefully."

"'Hopefully'?" That didn't sound very reassuring to Apollo. The thought of being in court without what could be a crucial piece of evidence sent a ripple of panic through him.

"So, Ema!" Maya clapped her hands together, starling him. "What can you tell us about the investigation so far?"

Munching on Snackaroos again, Ema's reply seemed almost disinterested. "Not much outside of what you already know." A tinge of sadness edged her voice. "Phoenix Wright is dead and Trucy is under suspicion. I haven't seen any of the collected evidence or anything. Like I said, I'm just filling in until Gumshoe gets back." Both Maya and Apollo looked crestfallen. "However, I do happen to know that we have two witnesses."

"Yeah, Detective Gumshoe mentioned someone had seen the moment of the crime." Apollo recalled as he perked up slightly.

Ema nodded. "Yeah, that one's being questioned right now. I assume she won't be available until tomorrow. But if I remember correctly, the other one is working right next door to this building."

"WHAT?!" Maya's jaw dropped to the floor. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"You didn't give me a chance to." The smugness in her voice was met by another glare from Apollo. "Just follow me and I'll take you guys to him."

They followed her through the crowds of officers that were swarming the agency. As they exited, Apollo glanced back and sadly wondered what would happen to the place after all this was done.

Pushing through the small crowd of people that had gathered at the very end of edge of the property on the sidewalk, they approached the building to the right of the Wright Anything Agency. Seeing it up close, Apollo realized that he actually had no idea what this building was for. Of course, there was the Gatewater Hotel on the left of the agency, but this...he wasn't sure. It was a few stories high. Offices maybe?

There was a line of tall bushes dividing the two properties and another line separating the property on the other side as well. Crouched down clipping away at the shrubbery was a tall, skinny and pale young man, probably about Trucy's age. He also had an absolutely ridiculous purple mohawk.

"Uh, excuse me, Mr. Sharply?" Ema's voice made him lift his head. He had a really long face that ended with a strong looking jawline. He had an air of "I really don't want to be here right now" emanating off of him.

With an annoyed expression, he put his hedge trimmers in his toolbelt. "Ugh, how many times do I have to tell ya guys: I've told ya everything I know." But he approached the group nonetheless.

"I'm not here to question you," Ema stepped aside and Apollo and Maya moved forward, "the defense is."

He sneered at the two of them. "And who are you supposed to be?" Standing closer to him now, Apollo could smell a very faint scent of marijuana wafting off him. '_Great, even if he does comply how can we trust a high witness?' _

Shaking off his uneasiness, Apollo flashed his attorney's badge to him. "I'm Apollo Justice and this is my partner Maya Fey. We'll be defending Trucy Wright tomorrow in court."

The mention of Trucy's name caused the gardener's entire disposition to change. His face seemed to soften up and the annoyance had dropped from his voice when he spoke. "Oh you mean that cute girl that's always next door? In that case, I'm all ears. Name's Tony by the way, Tony Sharply."

Casting aside the the slight discomfort he felt about this guy having his eye on Trucy, Apollo asked the most prominent question on his mind. "You're a witness, correct? Can you tell us what you saw?"

"Yeah, sure. It's not like I've been able to talk about anything else today." He sighed as he began to recall the events of the day. "This morning at about 11:30, I was busy trimming these here hedges- it's my job, I'm a gardener and landscaper at this company- when I saw someone enter the building next door."

"Could you describe them to us?" Maya asked.

"Could if I would, babe, but I can't."

"Did he just call me-"

"As I said, I was trimming the bushes. They're pretty thick ya know. All I saw was a vague outline of someone through the branches as they went into the building."

Apollo pressed a finger to his forehead in thought. "And what happened next?"

Tony took out his hedge trimmers and began to snip them open and shut absently. "Nothing for a while, honestly. I was working on the top of the bush and about ten minutes later someone wearing a blue tophat came walking out. Didn't get a good look at their face though; I saw them from a weird angle."

Maya gasped. "Blue tophat? That must have been one of Trucy's magician hats!"

"Yeah, that's what criminal affairs thinks too." Ema said. "We're looking for it now, but with no such luck."

"Well either way," Tony continue, "whoever that person was seemed to be in quite a hurry. They weren't really running but they were walking really quickly. Kinda almost a slow jog? Anyway, about a half an hour later- so 12:10 maybe?- I heard someone scream and about 15 minutes after that the cops showed up."

"The person who screamed must have been Trucy." Apollo concluded. "Did you do anything to try to help after you heard the scream?"

"Well, no."

Apollo stared at him in disbelief. "You heard someone scream and you didn't investigate?" He reeled back in horror as Tony shoved the trimmers in his face and began snipping them rapidly in an almost threatening way.

"It's not that I didn't care, got it bub?" His voice was lined with anger. "I just didn't want to stop what I was doing. I was in the groove of my job." He placed the trimmers back in his toolbelt. "Now is that all? I have work to get back to."

He turned to leave, but Apollo stopped him. "I'm sorry Mr. Sharply, but I can't let you leave just yet." He gripped his bracelet with his opposite hand. It had been reacting since the very beginning of Tony's testimony. "I have reason to suspect you're lying about something." He crossed his arms and smiled smugly. "In fact, I _know _you're lying."

Panic appeared in his face. He took out the trimmers again and began to snip them nervously. "W-what! You're the lawyer here, you could be the one who's lying!"

Choosing to ignore his rather rude comment, Apollo shook his head to disagree. "Nope. You see, when you said you couldn't tell who entered the building," his voice began to raise as his confidence grew, "your nostrils flared, giving away your lie. Think of it like a poker tell. Now, fess up and tell the truth!" He thrust a finger forward and pointed at Tony.

"Apollo, you're not in court." Maya looked at him with exasperation. "No need to use the Chords of Steel _or _point your finger."

Apollo blushed lightly and brushed his hair spikes back in embarrassment. "Ahem, sorry. It still doesn't change the fact that Mr. Sharply here has been lying to use. There's no point in keeping that lie up now."

Tony groaned in defeat and once again put the trimmers away. "Okay, ya got me. I just didn't tell ya because I didn't think it was important okay?"

"Every piece of testimony is important Mr. Sharply." Ema said rather coldly. "You should have told us right away."

"Right, sorry."

"So who did you see enter the agency?" Maya asked eagerly.

"I saw the guy who works there. The one with the spiky hair. Something Wright? Eagle? Hawk? Something like that. He was the one who went in."

"Mr. Sharply!" Ema yelled at him. "Mr. Wright is the victim in this case! What you just said is incredibly important."

"ACK!" Tony looked down in disappointment. "I didn't know okay, I just knew someone died. I didn't know _who _it was."

Maya placed a hand to her cheek and gazed up in thought. "So he saw Nick enter the building at 11:30 this morning?" Her eyes widened and she reeled back in shock. "But wait! Isn't 11:30…"

"...when the agency opens." Apollo finished her thought. "But that doesn't make any sense. The person who killed the boss had have already been _inside _when he got there. Mr. Sharply, are you sure you didn't see anyone else enter the building."

"Cross my heart. I'm positive."

Apollo briefly stayed silent. "Thank you Mr. Sharply, you've been a great help." Tony shrugged and walked off into the building they were in front of.

"Well that certainly...brought some new information to light." Apollo said.

"How on earth did someone get into a locked agency?" Maya wonder aloud. "Maybe it was magic?"

"Maya, we're trying to prove Trucy innocent, not incriminate her even more!"

"Oh hey, speaking of Trucy," Ema checked her watch, "she's probably done being questioned by now if you wanna go talk to her."

"That's probably not a bad idea." Maya agreed.

"Well I guess we're heading to the detention center then." He turned to Ema. "If anything major pops up, give us a call all right?"

She pulled out a bag of Snackaroos and began to snack on them again. "Yeah sure, not a problem." An officer called out to her from the sidewalk. "Looks like I'm needed. See ya later you two. Good luck." She waved goodbye as she walked away.

"C'mon Maya, my car's over there."

"Uh..do we really have to drive?" Maya panicked slightly as she remembered how Apollo had made his grand entrance earlier. Not to mention all the other horror stories she had heard about his driving abilities- or lack there of. "I mean it's a gorgeous day…"

Apollo's hair spikes drooped again in disbelief. "I'm not _that _bad okay. I'll pay attention to the speed limit, I promise." Maya sighed in agreement and followed him to his car. As she buckled up, she sent a quick prayer he wouldn't kill them both.

Thanks to tumblr user theradicalz for proofreading and tumblr user tomtd for helping me think of Tony's name!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_I'm Fine!_

It wasn't until they reached the detention center that Maya was able to breathe easily again. The horror stories, the stuff she regarded merely as exaggerations of Apollo's bad driving, were absolutely true. He kept his promise and obeyed the speed limit, but that was about it. No usage of turn signals, no stopping at stop signs, he even ran every red light they came across. As she stepped out of the car, thankful to be in one piece, she couldn't help but wonder in amazement how Apollo had not had his license taken away yet and how he had not killed himself yet.

"See, it wasn't _that _bad, right Maya?" The lack of color in her face was all the answer he need. "Everyone's a critic."

They had been in the detention center so many times over the years, the guards on duty knew them by name and let them in to see Trucy almost immediately. The guards also expressed their condolences for the loss of Phoenix, many of them having known him in life.

Trucy was behind the glass window when they entered the room, a smile on her face. Apollo was relieved to see her smiling. She was a tough girl, but being arrested must have taken a toll on her. Her eyes, normally shining with energy and cheer, were dull with exhaustion. She greeted them happily as they took a seat on their side of the glass.

"So don't keep me waiting!" She jumped right to the chase. "Tell me what you've learned! You have learned something, right?"

Apollo rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, to be honest, it isn't much…"

"But it's something!" Maya interjected, voice filled with optimism.

They proceeded to tell her about what they had done since she left. The mention that someone had taken one of her magician's hats to frame her made her visibly angry. "I mean, take my glove, okay. Take my _hat _and that's crossing the line!" She wasn't mad that she had been framed for the murder of her own father but at the fact that someone had taken one of her magicians hats. Apollo couldn't help but smile.

"It was basically a day of little breakthroughs," Maya concluded. "But there was one big thing we found, right Apollo?"

He nodded in agreement, although if he was being honest with himself, he had forgotten about it. "Trucy, we found a briefcase under your father's desk. It was full of official records and articles about the Phantom- the UR-1 incident, Bobby Fulbright's autopsy report, stuff like that. Do you know anything about that?"

Her gasp of shock confirmed Apollo's suspicions. "No, I had no idea about that!"

"Is there _anything _you can tell us, Truce?" Maya asked.

Trucy's eyes drifted to the ceiling as she quietly thought. A few moments of silence later, her face lit up in realization. "Well there have been some times when I've come home without announcing my arrival and he'd be down at the police department without actually having a case at the time."

"And how do you know he was at the police department?" Apollo raised a brow. They were actually getting somewhere, much to his surprise.

"I'd ask him after he got home. Daddy was really honest with me with just about everything but...on those days he would act really weird. Like he was hiding something." She shrugged. "It never bothered me too much though."

"Nick was definitely hiding something from us. But why?" Maya sounded betrayed and Apollo couldn't help but agree a bit. Phoenix had been his boss. Athena's too. And he never told anyone about this. They were supposed to be coworkers and he had kept something this big from them. His mind began to race, thinking of possibilities and explanations but coming to no sound conclusions.

"So Trucy, how have you been?" Maya's question snapped him out of his daze. He realized guiltily he had never asked his sister how she had doing since her arrest.

He felt better when he heard her laugh. "I've been doing fine, Mommy. Don't you worry! It's been a long day, for everyone here." She cast a glance over to Apollo. "Hey you okay Polly? You look kind of down."

"Uh…" She had seen right through him. "I'm just nervous about tomorrow's trial is all. Just your standard pre-trial jitters."

"Apollo," Maya looked at him in disbelief, "for a living lie detector, you're a horrible fibber." Trucy snorted and Apollo glared at both of them, but ended up sighing in defeat. Women are mysterious creatures who knew everything after all- or at least that's what Athena had told him.

"I'm scared okay?" He was ashamed to admit it, but it was true. He had been terrified of the next day's trial since the moment Trucy was arrested. Terrified of failing. "I'm scared that I'll fail Phoenix." The usage of Phoenix's first name still felt weird on his tongue, but he had recently requested that he and Athena refer to him as such when in casual conversation. Something about making the agency "feel more like a family than a business." Apollo was going to respect that wish, even in death.

Trucy frowned. "What do you mean you're afraid you're going to fail Daddy? There's no way you'll let me get a guilty verdict!"

"Oh, I know that." He worried if he sounded cocky or arrogant as the words left his mouth. "But what if we can't find the real killer? If he really was killed by a member of the Phantom's organization, they could be long gone by now. What if we never find out who did it?"

Silence befell the three of them as the possibility of a cold case set in. They were going to enter the colosseum as a team of scrawny peasants to go up against the champion gladiator. The chance of finding Phoenix's true killer was slim to none, they all knew that, but none were willing to admit it.

"Well we have to try!" Maya said in determination. Her cheeks were slightly puffed out in a semi humorous fashion. "You wouldn't believe the amount of cases Nick and I went into with next to nothing and we ended up coming on top." She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled earnestly at him. "It'll be okay Apollo. Just believe in yourself. You'll be fine."

"Yeah Polly!" Trucy encouraged him. "You're Apollo Justice and you're fine!"

Laughing, Apollo smiled. They were right. Everything would be okay tomorrow. Trucy would be proven innocent and the real culprit would be caught. He was sure of it. A sense of passion and renewed hope surged through him as he nodded at his companions.

"Yeah, you're both right." He took a deep breath. He was fine. He was just fine. "I'M APOLLO JUSTICE AND I'M FINE!" With those words, he felt the pressure and uncertainty that had been bogging him down lift from his shoulders. It was incredible how much it helped.

"Yeah that's the Apollo I know!" Maya punched him playfully in the shoulder a bit too hard. But Apollo didn't care. "Even if I did go a bit deaf in the process, I'm glad we managed to cheer you up."

Apollo was preparing a retort to the "deaf" comment but music suddenly erupted from his pocket. His phone was ringing!

"You still have Klavier's song as your ringtone…?" Maya stifled a laugh.

Choosing to ignore her comment, Apollo flipped open his phone and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Apollo!" A familiar voice greeted him. "Salut! I'm glad I was able to reach you. The reception up here is so bad you can't even begin to imagine."

Apollo grinned. "Hey Athena." The mention of his coworker's name was met by requests from the peanut gallery to put her on speaker. "Hey I'm gonna put you on speakerphone, okay? Maya and Trucy wanna say hi." And with the press of a button, Athena's voice filled the tiny room.

"Trucy? You there?" Trucy responded by saying- well more like yelling- hello. "Trucy, you've probably heard this so much today but I'm so sorry. Your dad was a great man, one of the greatest. I wish I could give you a great big bear hug right now." The solemness in her voice was so unlike her that Apollo briefly thought it was someone talking to them. But in the time it took him to think that, the peppiness returned with her next question. "So Apollo, have they got anyone in custody? Any suspects or anything? I suspect Mr. Edgeworth will be prosecuting."

The three of them exchanged uncertain glances, realizing that aside from knowing Phoenix was murdered, there was no way for her to be fully informed about the days events.

"Um Athena…" Maya was the one to speak first. "Well, about that…" She proceeded to fill Athena in on the days events since she was initially contacted. Athena stayed quiet for the whole explanation, much to Apollo's surprise. But the moment Maya stopped talking, the floodgates opened.

"WHAT? Trucy is accused of Phoenix's murder?" Apollo briefly thought about how she was probably disturbing the other passengers on the plane and silently apologized to them. "And he was investigating the Phantom and his company… That is a lot to take in."

"Yeah. I think we're in way over our heads for this one." Apollo mused aloud.

Athena laughed and Apollo could just imagine her grin. "When _aren_'_t _we in over our heads Apollo?" She had a fair point.

"So Athena, will you be here in time for the trial tomorrow? Apollo and I would love the help." Maya asked the question that Apollo had been meaning to.

"Yeah actually! My flight is scheduled to get in at 11 o'clock tonight."

"Will you need a ride to your apartment from the airport?" Apollo asked.

"Nah I'll be fine. I've already reserved a taxi."

"Consider yourself lucky…" Maya muttered. Athena and Trucy laughed much to Apollo's dismay.

"But hey, I gotta go. I'm pretty sure this call still counts as international and I don't want to be charged more money than I have to be. I'll see you all tomorrow in court! Adios!" They all said their goodbyes and Apollo flipped his phone shut.

He turned to Maya, staring at her in exasperation. "I'm not that bad at diving you know."

"Yes you are, Apollo."

"Why do you think Daddy never let you drive me anywhere?"

A retort about Phoenix's inability to drive at all was on the tip of Apollo's tongue, but given the circumstances he decided to keep it to himself. He made a mental note of his counter argument, sure that he would use it some time in the future. But for now, he stayed in agitated silence.

At that moment, a guard entered Trucy's side of the room from a door on the side wall. "Visiting hours are over Ms. Wright. If you would come with me please."

She nodded, and stood up. "Bye guys! Good luck during the trial tomorrow. I know you can do it!" She smiled reassuringly at the two of them and followed the guard out of the room.

As Apollo and Maya walked out of the center, they discussed their plans for the following morning.

"Well Ema hasn't called you yet, which means we're probably going to be on our own tomorrow in terms of evidence." Maya said.

"Yeah. Hopefully the blood on the suitcase will be done being analyzed by tomorrow." He wasn't too hopeful though.

Maya bounced slightly as she walked, her robes brushing the ground lightly with each step. "I'm so excited for tomorrow's trial. I mean I'm nervous as well, but I'm also really excited! I haven't been behind the defense bench since before Nick lost his badge." Apollo detected just the slightest hint of sadness in her voice as she mentioned her friend's name. Whether it was of bitter memories of his disbarment or simply out of grief of his passing, he wasn't sure. But when she spoke again, all hints of it had disappeared. "It's going to bring back some great memories and form even better new ones, I'm sure."

"Oh hey, Maya," As they approached the car, Apollo remembered something. "Do you have anywhere to sleep tonight? You can crash at my place if you want. You can wash your robes overnight. Not sure what you'll do for pajamas though…"

"Do you have an oversized t-shirt and some sweatpants?"

"Yeah."

"That'll do just fine then!"

"Okay, good." Apollo grabbed his car keys out of his pocket and made way for the door, only for Maya to snatch them right out of his hands.

"Nuh uh. I'm not letting you drive again, _especially _at night. I'd rather live to see tomorrow."

"Do you even have your license on you?"

"No. But letting you drive is a public safety risk. I'm sure any police officers will understand."

Apollo didn't protest, but grumbled none the less as he got into the passenger side. He glanced once more at the detention center as Maya drove off.

Later that night, as Maya slept peacefully on the couch Apollo found himself unable to settle down. Self doubt plagued his mind about the trial. The realization that he won't wake up and go to the agency tomorrow kept haunting him. Never again would he work alongside his mentor; his whole reason for being a lawyer in the first place.

In the dim light of the room, he looked at himself in a mirror across from the foot of his bed. In all likelihood, he would be put in charge with the agency after all this was said and done. He tried to imagine it. '_Justice Anything Agency.' _he thought to himself, '_Doesn't have nearly the same ring as Wright Anything Agency.' _

The figure that stared back at him sure didn't look like anyone who could be in charge of an agency to him. He looked like someone who barely had any experience in the legal world and who wasn't ready to let go. Before long, Apollo found himself fighting back tears.

He briefly looked away and then back at the mirror. "I'll be fine." He said to himself. "I'll be fine. I'll be fine. I'll be fine." He repeated the phrase over and over again as he stood up and walked in front of the mirror. He stared at himself with a furrowed brow. He _was _going to be fine. He took a deep breath and in a voice not too loud to wake Maya up but loud enough to get him energized he repeated what he had said at the detention center.

"I'm Apollo Justice and I'm _fine._"

And as Apollo stood there having regained his confidence, he could have sworn he heard Phoenix telling him he'd be fine too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_When a Lawyer Must Force their Biggest Smile_

Waking up the following day was difficult. Not only for Apollo- he could see how Maya's shoulders were slouched a bit, could hear the despair under the mountains of peppiness in her voice. He could only imagine how Trucy was feeling.

The car ride to the courthouse was quiet. Maya had permitted him to drive again, much to his surprise. He took is easy this time when behind the wheel- he had paid attention to Maya's driving abilities the night before to learn what was more "socially acceptable" to do. Using his blinkers, for example, came a lot more naturally to him than he thought it would be.

When they arrived, there was a mass of news reporters outside. It came as a genuine shock to the both of them when they were stopped and interviewed about the case and about Phoenix himself. Neither of them had realized how well known he was or how big of an impact his murder would have on the legal world. Apollo suddenly began to feel self doubt and anxiety creep up on him again.

After forcing themselves through the crowds of reporters, a guard ushered them into Defendant's Lobby Number 2, a place they were both intimately familiar with. Trucy was already there talking to someone in a vibrant yellow suit. Apollo smiled, glad to see she made it back safely.

"Athena!" Maya called out to her as she raised her hand in greeting. "Long time no see!"

Athena ran up and embraced Maya warmly. "Yeah I know! We have so much to catch up on after all this." She glanced slyly at Apollo. "I have _so _many embarrassing Apollo stories to tell."

At this point, Apollo wasn't even phased by her teasing. "You got here late last night, right? Are you sure you're well rested enough to be defending today?" Through the vibrant smile, Apollo could see tiredness clouding her eyes.

Athena placed her hands on her hips in annoyance. "Of course I am Apollo." Her necklace, Widget, suddenly turned red and an angry face appeared on the screen as she curled her fists upward in determination. "We have to work together to figure out who killed Phoenix!"

'_Glad to see she's the same as ever.' _Apollo thought. "How did your relatives take the news? Were they okay with you cutting your trip short?"

Athena nodded. "Oh yeah, they completely understood. They were the ones to get me an overnight flight back here!"

He turned his attention to his sister. "How you doing Trucy?"

She smiled sincerely at him. "I'm doing great knowing that you'll be the one defending me, Polly!"

A small robotic voice saying "_What about me?" _made Apollo burst into laughter. Trucy gasped and turned to face Athena. "And I'm positive you'll do great too Athena!" Apollo could hear Athena apologize to Trucy over Widget's outburst over his laughter.

"Oh yeah, Trucy," Maya suddenly said, "I've been meaning to ask- what time did your train get here yesterday?"

"Oh, uh." She thought briefly. "Probably 11AM. Why?"

Apollo was ashamed he hadn't asked her sooner. Knowing _when _she arrived in Los Angeles was probably one of the most important things for the upcoming trial. "Because we needed to know if you had an alibi." Apollo replied for Maya.

Athena stared at him in concerned disbelief, Widget having turned a slight purplish color. "Is there anything else that's important that you're missing?"

"Yes actually!" A familiar voice answered before Apollo could. They all turned to see Ema walking towards them. "Potentially the most important piece of evidence of them all: this briefcase."

Apollo's heart skipped a beat. "Wait, you mean…?"

Ema tilted her head up and looked down on him ever so slightly. "Yep, the analysis is complete. Did you really doubt me?" She laughed at her own question.

'_Yes, actually…' _he thought. "So what were the results?"

"Just about what was expected." She replied, handing the case to Apollo. "The blood wasn't Mr. Wright's. We couldn't find a match for it unfortunately, but it does confirm that someone tried to wipe it away. Also, and I don't know if this is important or not, but the amount of blood was small. Really small. As if someone had pricked their finger and let a single droplet fall onto the case. It looked like a lot in the luminol because it had been smudged over the top."

Although he couldn't see the relevance of it now, Apollo nodded in agreement. It'd probably end up being a vital clue later down the road. Thinking about it, that's how most of his trials ended up- something useless ends up turning the tide of battle. He laughed dryly at the thought.

Ema glanced down at her watch and slapped her cheek in shock. "You all better get going on in, it's just about time for the trial to start." She grinned genuinely, something that caught Apollo off guard. "I wish you all the best of luck." The tone of her voice was suddenly serious and Apollo could tell she wanted nothing more to see Phoenix's killer be put behind bars. And he couldn't agree more.

The courtroom had a somber feel about it. Usually full of liveliness and energy (ironic given that most of the trials held there were for murder), the members of the gallery were oddly quiet save for a hushed whisper here and there. As the three members of the defense readied their papers and looked over the Court Record one final time, Apollo glanced upward and for the first time since the previous day saw his opponent. Edgeworth is staring diligently at his paperwork and even from across the room, Apollo could see the exhaustion in his eyes.

"Poor Mr. Edgeworth," Athena suddenly said as she brought up the Mood Matrix. "The Mood Matrix is going crazy- his emotions are all over the place. He doesn't want to think Trucy is guilty in murdering Phoenix but… he has to." She frowned and looked down sadly. "This is going to be a really rough trial for him."

"Well lucky for him, Trucy isn't guilty!" Maya said. "We just have to prove it."

The pounding of the gavel brought their attentions to the front of the room, where the judge was sitting. "Order, order in the court!" His voiced, although aged, was booming and authoritative. "The trial for the murder of Phoenix Wright is now in session!" He paused momentarily, his eyes closed. "I never thought I would ever have to say those words. Today is truly a tragic day."

"No offense Your Honor," Edgeworth coldly cut into the judge's train of thought, "but now is not the time to be reminiscing." He slammed his hand onto his bench with a loud _bang!_ "Now is the time for finding the truth."

"Although I do not quite agree with the prosecution's tone of voice, Mr. Edgeworth does have a point. Let the trial commence!" There was a brief pause and Apollo could just _tell _the judge was confused about something. "Now hm, I seem to have forgotten the name of the defendant in this case."

Apollo could hardly believe his ears. And Athena couldn't either, apparently. "I think it's about time the good judge here retired if he can't remember the name of the defendant…" she muttered under her breath.

"Not a problem your Honor." Edgeworth smiled. "The defendant in this case is none other than the victim's own daughter, Trucy Wright." Her mugshot suddenly appeared on a huge screen behind the judge. Apollo was suddenly reminded that the courthouse has been trying to become more modern as of late in attempt to "streamline" things. Each bench now had a touch screen monitor built into it (leaving enough room for desk slams) that was basically a digital Court Record: it contained evidence and profiles and could be updated with just a few simple inputs. Smaller pieces of evidence could even be placed upon it and it'll automatically scan it and provide basic information on it- such as a model of gun or what a piece of cloth is made of. While he appreciated that it made the sharing of evidence between benches easier, Apollo still preferred presenting physical evidence opposed to simply making them show up on a screen. He had to admit, it was pretty cool though.

The judge squinted at his own monitor before widening his eyes in amazement. "T-trucy Wright!?" He looked towards Edgeworth in shock. "You mean to tell Mr. Wright was killed by his own daughter?!"

"OBJECTION!" Apollo couldn't help but yell the word. "That's conjecture! There's no definitive proof that she's the killer!" His outburst was met with a heavy silence and he could feel the heat rising to his cheeks.

"Apollo," Maya looked at him exasperation, "Edgeworth hasn't even given his opening statement yet. Calm down."

"Oh ho ho! I hadn't even noticed you Ms. Fey!" The judge smiled earnestly at her. "It's been quite some time since I've seen you behind that bench. But indeed, you are correct about the opening statements- Mr. Edgeworth would care to share it?"

"But of course Your Honor." He glanced down at his monitor as if contemplating reading from it, but instead grabbed some paperwork. He adjusted his glasses and began to read. "The victim's body was discovered at approximately 12:10 PM by the defendant. He was found at his desk with a throwing knife plunged into his neck." There was a noticeable pause after he described the state his friend had been found in. "A glove belonging to the defendant that was covered in the victim's blood was found at the scene of the crime. The knife was also part of a throwing set belonging to the defendant, who is a magician."

"Excuse me Mr. Edgeworth," Apollo put his finger to his forehead in thought. "But what is the time of death?" He had realized he didn't actually know when Phoenix died.

Edgeworth smiled smugly and shook his head. "Surely you've checked the autopsy report, Mr. Justice?"

"The autopsy..?" No one had handed him a copy of it.

"Remember Apollo, they're going digital!" Athena leaned over and pressed a button on the monitor. Suddenly, a digitized version of the paperwork appeared in front of him. Feeling ashamed he had forgotten about digitized evidence, he quickly scanned over it, looking for important pieces of information. He found that Phoenix had died at about 11:30 AM and that he had lived for "no longer than 5 minutes" after being stabbed. The thought of Phoenix slowly suffering made his stomach churn.

"Now that Mr. Justice has done his homework, I'll let the good detective finish my opening statement." Edgeworth motioned towards the witness stand, where Apollo had just realized Gumshoe was standing.

"Sure thing, pal!" Gumshoe yelled in excitement. "Mr. Edgeworth pretty said everything, actually…" His smile dropped into a frown momentarily before perking up again. "That doesn't mean I'm here for nothing though!"

"Oh, then what is it that you have to offer?" The judge asked.

Gumshoe pulled out a device that kind of looked like a smartphone to Apollo and tinkered with it briefly. "If you would look at your monitors, you'll see a crime scene photo, pal."

Maya and Athena huddled up next to Apollo as he slowly opened the photo that had just been added to the Court Record. The ensuing image made Apollo look away briefly. It was a full color photo of Phoenix's body. He was slouched over his desk, with his right arm on top of it. A pen was barely visible under the palm of his were no papers on the desk (Apollo remembered Edgeworth mentioning that yesterday), but there was some blood splatter. The knife had been removed from his neck, but the gash was still there, crusted with dried blood. Apollo felt sick. He had seen countless bodies before but this was different.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey you okay?" Athena smiled at him but she looked shaken as well.

He nodded and forced himself to smile back, closing the photo out. "I'm fine I just… I hadn't seen the body before." He glanced over the prosecution, to see if Edgeworth was having a similar reaction as him. But he was standing as cooly as ever, arms crossed. Apollo couldn't help but seethe slightly at the sight- he seemed like he didn't care.

As if she could read his mind, Maya spoke. "Don't let Edgeworth bother you. He's hurting too you know, he's...just not showing it." Remembering how he appeared the day before at the crime scene, Apollo nodded.

Looking back up at the detective, Apollo saw him fidgeting with the phone like device. "We also found a hat, pal."

"A hat?" Confusion lit the judge's face.

"A magician's hat, to be precise." Gumshoe huffed with a smile. He tapped one more button on his device and a 3D model of what was unmistakably one of Trucy's magician's hat appeared on screen. "A hat belonging to the defendant. And before you ask, the only traces of hair found in the hat were Ms. Wright's, pal."

"Where was the hat found?" Athena inquired.

"In a dumpster a block away from the crime scene." Gumshoe replied.

"Hey Apollo," Maya whispered, "didn't Ema say she would could tell you if they found anything…?"

She had a point, but Apollo had a rebuttal. "They probably found it after Gumshoe rejoined the investigations." There was no way Ema would hide anything from him, as cynical as she was.

"Thank you Detective Gumshoe." Edgeworth said as Gumshoe finished his statement. The detective smiled at him as he left the stand. "Now that the opening is statement I would like to call forth my first witness, if that would be alright Your Honor."

The judge nodded. "If the defense has no further questions, you may proceed Mr. Edgeworth."

As Apollo expected, the stoner they met the day before was Edgeworth's first witness. He couldn't help but smile smugly- this guy was going to be easy.

"Poor guy must be really tired." Athen squinted at Tony. "His eyes are bloodshot."

"I don't think that's the reason, Athena…." Athena cast him a quizzical look and Apollo heard Maya snicker behind him. '_I can't tell if she's just missing the point or if she's ignorant.'_

"Witness," Edgeworth commanded, "name and occupation please."

"Huh?" The prosecution's voice snapped him out of a daze he had been in. "Oh yeah. The name's Tony Sharpley and I'm a professional slacker."

"Professional slacker? Why I had no idea such a job even existed!" The judge seemed to sincerely believe what Tony had said. His question was met by obnoxious laughter, however.

"Got ya baldy!" Tony wiped a tear from his eye. "I can't believed you fell for that- I guess the rumors are true!"

"R-rumors!? Why I-" The judge sounded offended.

"But in all seriousness I'm a landscaper for the company next to that law office that the murder took place in."

"Mr. Sharpley here witnessed the victim entering the building before his death. As a result, he is the last person to have seen Mr. Wright alive." Edgeworth looked up from the paperwork he had been reading.

The judge nodded and with a pound of his gavel requested that Tony give testimony about seeing Phoenix enter the law office.

With a disinterested sigh, he began to relay what he saw. "So I saw the lawyer dude enter the building at like...11:25 yesterday morning? Something like that." He ran his fingers through his mohawk. "After that I didn't see anyone else enter or leave…. and then at like 10 past noon I heard that cute girl from next door scream. The cops showed up 10 minutes after that I think." He took out his clippers and began to play with them in a bored fashion as he finished speaking.

Apollo stayed silent, flabbergasted at the absurd amount of uncertainty in his testimony. "That was one of the flimsiest things I've ever heard." Maya voiced his thought. Apollo turned to her and she grinned. "Which means it should really easy to pick apart."

She was right and he already knew exactly where to start. He already had an idea where to start. "Mr. Sharpley, can you repeat your second statement please?"

He shrugged and put the clippers away. "Yeah, whatever. I didn't see anyone else enter or leave the building after sir spikes."

"_Objection!" _It felt good to call the first real contradiction of the trial. "I'm afraid that is just not true, Mr. Sharpley."

"And what do you mean by that?" Edgeworth asked.

"I mean this." He tapped his screen and the 3D model of the magician's hat appeared on the screen behind the judge. "When I questioned you yesterday, you said you saw someone in this hat leave the building 10 minutes after Mr. Wright entered the building." He thrust his finger in the direction of the stand. "Which is an explicit contradiction of what you just said!"

Athena jumped up and clapped her hands together in joy. "Great job Apollo!" He smiled and rubbed his hair antenna down in embarrassment. '_Thanks… but it was pretty obvious.'_

Tony had a scowl on his face and was snipping his clippers in a frenzy. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"Well I ain't calling you a truther!" Apollo retorted.

There was an audible growl from Tony as he slowly regained his composure. "Look, I just forgot alright?"

"It seems like a pretty big thing to forget." The judge mumbled. "Witness, please add this to your testimony."

Tony groaned and Apollo officially decided he didn't like this guy. "Fine. I saw someone- the girl- leave the office about 10 minutes after the lawyer got there. Happy now?"

'_Oh yes, because you just gave me some more firepower!' _Apollo slammed his fist on the desk, careful to avoid the screen. "Hold it!" He glanced down at his notes. "Before the trial began, Ms. Fey asked Ms. Wright what time she arrived home via the train. Her response? 11AM."

"Hmph, and what is your point Mr. Justice?" Edgeworth crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Yes Mr. Justice, just what is significant about the time of her arrival?" The judge asked and Apollo suddenly felt the familiar sensation of being teamed up on.

"What's significant about this is not only the time of arrival but _also _how long it takes her to get to the Wright Anything Agency. Ms. Fey," he turned to her, "you frequently come to the city via train. How long does it tak on foot to get to the office?"

Maya, clearly caught off guard by being put on the spot, stumbled over her words a bit before answering. "Oh, uh on foot? Maybe an hour and ten minutes?"

"Thank you. Now if Ms. Wright arrived at 11 AM and it took her an hour and ten minutes to walk to her father's place of employment…" He found himself pointing again. "It would make it impossible for her to have committed the murder at 11:25 AM!"

"_ACK!"_ Tony yelled as he nervously began to trim the hairs on his mohawk.

"That is very true Mr. Justice!" The judge sounded proud of Apollo's deduction skills. "It would seem like it's not possible for the defendant to have committed to the murder!" His words were barely heard over the murmuring of the gallery and he had to bang his gavel multiple time to restore order.

When the room finally quieted down, Apollo's smile melted at the familiar sound of '_tsk, tsk, tsk' _coming from the bench opposite his. "Mr. Justice I believe it was you who said 'evidence is everything in court' during the trial of Ms. Cykes a few years ago." He slammed his hand on his desk. "Now I demand to see that evidence! Show me proof that Ms. Wright arrived at 11 AM."

'_Evidence? The only thing I have to go on is Trucy's word! And I know she's not lying but how do I explain that to the court!?' _Apollo wiped his brow, surprised at how sweaty he was. "I uh… the defense… doesn't have any physical proof."

"As I thought." The smugness in Edgeworth's voice angered Apollo. "The defendant could have simply lied about her arrival time to create an alibi for herself."

"But-" Athena leaned forward on the bench. "Even the prosecution has to agree that there is a chance she's telling the truth! And if she is, there's no way she could have killed Mr. Wright!" Edgeworth stayed silent, and Apollo recognized the gesture as one of agreement. Even the judge seemed to acknowledge the theory.

"Although he lacks sufficient proof, I believe we should further delve into the defense's theory. Mr. Sharpley, please testify about the person you saw leaving the office." A pound of the gavel made the decree official. '_For once the judge is on our side!' _Apollo thought happily.

"So the guy I saw leaving the office; I didn't get a good look at them." Tony started. "I saw them from above- was trimming the hedges ya know- so the brim of the hat was blocking their face. I think they had short hair? Hell if I know. I didn't get a good look at their outfit but for some reason the fact they were only wearing one glove stood out to me." He paused for a second. "Yeah that's it, man."

"Are you positive they were only wearing one glove?" Apollo asked. He could see the pieces falling into place in his mind's eye.

"Yeah. I dunno man, it was weird to me."

"Good, because that, without a sliver of a doubt, proves that this person wasn't Trucy." Apollo crossed his arms and grinned. He saw Edgeworth raise and eyebrow and was pleased to see fear flicker in his eye for a brief moment.

The judge looked lost as ever, so before he even got a chance to ask, Apollo brought an image of the glove up on screen. "This is a glove found at the crime scene that is covered in the victim's blood. Now, look at this picture." He brought up a picture of Trucy's mugshot. "This image was quite clearly taken yesterday. Now, tell me- how many gloves is she wearing?"

"Why, she's wearing two!" The judge said after a brief moment.

"Exactly." Apollo nodded. "Then why did the person Mr. Sharpley saw only have one?!" He felt confident. The trial was turning in his favor!

"Objection!" Edgeworth slammed his hand again and scowled at the defense, "She could have simply put on another glove before calling the police!"

"Objection!" Apollo shouted back. "Why would she wait 45 minutes before replacing the glove!?" He smiled confidently as Edgeworth leaned forward on his bench, eyes wide in anger and disbelief. "There's only one explanation! The killer, having grabbed a spare pair in the living room, didn't know where to find others to replace it! Which means it couldn't have been Trucy!"

"WHAT!?" Tony and Edgeworth yelled the word at the same time as the gallery started to get loud again.

"Way to go Apollo!" Maya congratulated him. "But...what about that hat with Trucy's hair in it? That's some pretty incriminating evidence."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Apollo dismissed her quickly, but it was a valid point, even if it wasn't relevant right now.

"So there was a second person in the office at the time of the murder who _wasn't _Ms. Wright?" The judge gasped.

"Exactly." This trial was going much smoother than Apollo expected.

"Where do you supposed this second person came from, Mr. Justice?" Edgeworth asked harshly. "No one else entered the office!"

"No one entered the office via the _door_." Apollo rebutted. He brought up the photo of the crime scene. "See this window?" He drew a circle around a window near the desk with his finger. "It's kept unlocked during the summer months because of how stuffy the office gets." He slammed his desk with purpose. "It's possible the true killer snuck in through that, waited, and killed Mr. Wright when he opened the office for the day!"

The murmuring of the gallery turned into a full on uproar that took many gavel poundings to calm down. "Order! Order in the court! Mr. Justice, are you saying that someone waited in the office specifically to kill Mr. Wright?"

"This is exactly what I'm saying."

"Hmm. It's certainly a believable theory. Mr. Edgeworth, what do you think?"

Apollo's confidence plummeted when he saw Edgeworth's cocky grin. "But it's just a theory. An untrue theory."

"U-untrue?" The judge reeled back in shock. "That's quite a bold thing to say."

Edgeworth shrugged. "But it's the truth. And I have proof- we have a witness who saw the moment of the murder."

"Whaaa_AAAAAT?!"_ All three members of the defense yelled in shock. This was the first they were hearing of this.

Apollo began to panic. A witness who saw the moment of the murder? Oh no. This is bad. This is _really _bad. What are they going to do?

"Y-your Honor! The defense would like to request a recess to uh, go over evidence!" Athena asked in an attempt to stall for time. It wasn't a total like- they needed to get their facts straight. A witness who saw the murder is bad news and they need to be as ready as possible.

The judge considered it for a moment then nodded. "I agree. We will have a thirty minute recess and then the prosecution will bring in their second witness." A pound of the gavel sounded.

As the members of the court and gallery gathered their things and proceeded to leave the room, Apollo stayed still. He had done...well! Of course none this might matter depending on what the next witness says but he still mentally patted himself on the back. he still had no idea what was really going on, but as he finally stood up he knew he getting closer to finding who killed Phoenix.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

Hey! So the whole not updating in a year thing…. Yeah. Sorry about that. Guilty as charged.

Short story is that I graduated high school and went through my first year of college and simply didn't have the time to work on this. A chapter consists of thoroughly detailed notes and outlines, then I have to write the actual chapter then have it proof read. The outline itself can take multiple days to write.

When I did have the time to write, I simply wasn't motivated enough or had writers block. I have ADHD which can cause motivation problems, and it happens a lot.

However, I never forgot about this story. It's been on the back of my mind since the last update. I always felt so guilty whenever I opened my laptop and told myself to work on Closure but I never did. The guilt was overwhelming when I realized it had been over a year since the last update.

From the bottom of my heart: I am so, so, so sorry.

I can't promise weekly or even consistent updates because I simply can't keep that promise. But let it be know I love this story. It is my baby and I _will _see it through to the end. My goal is by the end of the year, but again I can't promise anything. All I can ask is that you please be patient with me.

On another note, I have a twitter- phoenix_wrights. If you would like to talk to me, give me suggestions, yell at me to work etc. please feel free to follow me. I also tend to post previews of fics (including Closure) I write there as well!

And finally, I'm sorry about the length of this chapter. It's short but I wanted to get _something _out to you guys to show that neither I nor the fic is dead.

Thank you.

**TL;DR: **Life happened, fic isn't dead and never was and I'm sorry. Follow me on twitter phoenix_wrights for previews of upcoming chapters.

Chapter 5

_Calm Before the Storm_

As the members of the Wright Anything Agency filed into the courtroom for the recess, the facts of the trial swarmed around Apollo's head. They had definitively proven that it was possible for another person to have entered the office, which was definitely progress towards finding Trucy innocent. Now if only he could explain the hat…

"Hello? Earth to Apollo?" Athena's voice snapped him out of his trance.

"Oh, sorry. I was just going over the facts of the trial so far." He frowned. "I can't believe Edgeworth has a witness who saw the moment of the murder."

"Well to be fair, Ema did say there were two witnesses." Maya reminded him. "Whoever this person is must be that second witness." Oh yeah. Apollo had completely forgotten about that.

"Well either way, if this witness is anything like Mr. Sharply's, this trial will be over in no time." Apollo smiled confidently.

"I dunno, Apollo," Athena mused, "Edgeworth seemed awfully confident." _And there goes my confidence, thanks Athena. _Apollo's grin fell from his face.

"Polly!" Trucy's voice ripped through the air as she ran up to him. "You're doing great! I honestly wasn't too sure how well you'd do but I'm really glad you're defending me!" _Ow. Two blows to my pride in a row._

Shaking off the unintended insult, Apollo smiled again. "I'm doing my best."

"So, what have we gotten so far?" Maya asked, hand pressed against her cheek in contemplation. Oh yeah, it would probably be good to go over the facts of the case with his coworkers.

"Well, we proved that it's possible that someone _other _than Trucy entered the office." Apollo started. "And that it couldn't have been Trucy that left the office during the time that Mr. Sharply claimed her saw her."

"But we also have the issue of the hat." Athena pointed out. Uhg, the hat. Being thoroughly stumped on that end, he would really rather not talk about it.

"I know only my hair was found in it, but it wasn't me! I swear!" The young magician's face grew stern in self-defense and Apollo couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes Trucy, we know, that's the whole reason I'm here defending you."

At that moment, the Steel Samurai theme song erupted from Maya's general direction. Confusion then realization crossed her face as she scoured her robes, searching for the source of the music before finally pulling out a pink flip-phone. "I have to take this," she said heading towards the hallway. "I'll be right back."

With the sound of music gone and only the buzzing of the fluorescent lights above them, a sudden though hit Apollo that could solve one of the biggest issues of the trial so far.

"Trucy!" He almost shouted her name and her eyes widened in surprise. "Do you have your train ticket?"

"Oh smart idea Apollo!" Athena grinned widely and punched the palm of her hand with confidence. "If she has the train ticket, we can prove that she couldn't have gotten to the office in time to kill Phoenix!"

Apollo nodded. "Exactly."

"Well uh actually…" Apollo's sense of accomplishment fell the moment he saw Trucy's downtrodden face. _Oh no. _

"I actually threw it out at the train station when I got here."

"Oh." Athena and Apollo uttered the word together.

"Now what?" Athena moaned. She was right. Without that ticket, there was no way to prove that Trucy arrived when she said she did. Unless…

"Wait, I think I have an idea. We can just-" Apollo was cut off by Maya running frantically back into the lobby.

"Guys!" She shouted frantically. "That was Pearl! She was able to make a connection with Nick's spirit!"

"_WHAT?!" _The three of them shouted at once. This is huge! If Pearl could channel Phoenix's spirit that could change everything. But that would also mean having to talk to his dead boss, which might be just a little bit awkward.

"Yeah! She's invited us to Kurain as soon as the trial's over."

"Of course we'll go!" Trucy shouted. "Or uh, you guys will go." She frowned, realizing she wouldn't be able to see her father again after all.

Athena nodded in agreement. "Of course we will, this could be a turning point for the trial." She remained silent for second before seeming to remember something. "Oh yeah, Apollo what was that you were saying?"

What he was saying…? Oh yeah! "Oh! I was saying we could go to the train station to ask for security footage to see if we could find Trucy at any point but…"

"But what?" Maya asked.

"With Kurain being so far away, I don't think it'd be possible for us to do both."

Maya and Athena stayed silent for a few moments before Athena spoke. "I'll do it."

"Do what?" Apollo asked.

"I'll stay back here and inquire about the security footage."

That was quite the sacrifice Athena was taking. She was as attached to Phoenix as anyone else, and even though she was smiling, Widget was blue and frowning. "Athena, are you sure about this?" Apollo wanted to make sure she was certain she wanted to do this.

"Positive." She grinned wider. "You and Maya can go to Kurain. Both of these leads are important, to disregard one for the other would be a great injustice."

_Athena might be young_, Apollo thought to himself, _but she has a heart of gold and a true sense of right and wrong._ "Okay, thank you Athena. This means a lot."

"Recess is over", a voice Apollo recognized as the plaintiff called. "Could the defendant please come over and the defense please enter the courtroom."

Trucy looked up to Apollo with trust and determination. "Good luck Polly, I know you can do it!" She gave him a hug before going over to join the plaintiff.

_Yeah I know I can do this, _he thought as he followed Maya and Athena into the courtroom, _but why do I get the feeling that things are about to get a lot more difficult from here on out?_

As always, thanks to Greg for proofreading for me.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_Fake News_

(Author's notes at the end of chapter)

Apollo took a deep breath to clear his head as he reentered the courtroom. Edgeworth was already behind his bench, going over paperwork and didn't so much as glance at the defense attorney and his entourage as they made their way over to the defense's side of the room.

As he took his position behind the bench, he felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder. He turned to see Athena smiling widely. "Don't worry, you got this Apollo." Did he really look as nervous as he felt? But she was right, there was nothing to worry about.

_I'm Apollo Justice and I'm fine. _

The pounding of the Judge's gavel brought him back into reality. "Court will now reconvene for trial of Trucy Wright." His voice bellowed throughout the room, echoing slightly. "Before we begin, I would like to go over the facts of the case." Both the defense and prosecution nodded in agreement.

He straightened out some papers on his desk- _Does the Judge not have the screens that we do? _Apollo wondered briefly, looking down at the blue screen on the bench that held the all the information both sides had presented about the case so far.

"Trucy Wright is accused of murdering her adoptive father, Phoenix Wright." He began. "Mr. Wright was found dead in his office at approximately 12:10PM by the defendant. The cause of death a stab through the neck with one of Ms. Wright's throwing knives."

"It was not the puncture that killed Mr. Wright," Edgeworth interjected, "but he bled out and drowned in his own blood."

The Judge nodded in agreement and continued. "Yes, Mr. Edgeworth. He remained alive for about five minutes. Also found at the crime scene was one of Ms. Wright's performing gloves covered in blood. One of her magician's hats was also found in a dumpster nearby."

"We also determined that there is a chance that was not the person Mr. Sharpley saw leaving the office after the murder took place." Apollo added almost in a panic. He had to remind the Judge- and the gallery for that matter- that Trucy was innocent until proven guilty and not the other way around. "Ms. Wright is wearing the outfit she was arrested in," he pulled up Trucy's mugshot onto the screens around the courtroom so that the Judge and gallery could see, "as Ms. Wright still has her two gloves. If Mr. Sharpley's testimony is to be believed, the murderer left wearing only one glove."

Apollo winced as Maya elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't forget about the alternate entry point, Polly." She hissed quietly at him.

He felt his ears grow warm as he pulled up the picture of the crime scene. How could he forget what was the most important thing he pointed out before the recess? Purposefully avoiding looking at the body of his boss, he took a stylus on the bench and circled a window on the wall. "We also determined a possible alternate means of entry," he stated, "This window is usually left open or unlocked during the summer months because of how unbearably hot the office can get."

"I never understood why he never installed air conditioner." He heard Athena sigh under her breath.

"Thank you, Mr. Justice." The Judge nodded in appreciation. "Now that the facts of the case have been established, Mr. Edgeworth, would you care to begin?"

Smiling cockily, Edgeworth did a little bow behind the bench. "Of course, Your Honor. The prosecution would like to end this as soon as possible to get justice for Mr. Wright." Apollo wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but he could have sworn he heard Edgeworth's voice tremble slightly. "As a result, our next witness will prove without a shadow of a doubt that Ms. Wright is the murderer."

"One moment, Mr. Edgeworth." Apollo interrupted. The prosecutor furrowed his brow in annoyance, but allowed Apollo to continue. He pressed a finger to his forehead and frowned slightly. "I'm sorry to interrupt, as I too want swift justice for Mr. Wright, but there is one thing that has been bothering me."

"What is it, Mr. Justice?" Edgeworth huffed, arms crossed with impatience.

Flipping through the electronic notes, Apollo continued with confidence lining his voice. "Excuse me if I'm mistaken, Mr. Edgeworth but it appears that nowhere in the Court Records do we have a possible motive listed." He looked back up with a smug look on his face. "And as anyone practicing law should know, no motive basically means no case."

Edgeworth recoiled in shock, a look of unmistakable hate lining his features. _Got him_.

"Great work Apollo!" Athena clapped happily as Widget turned a soft shade of green and beeped in glee. "I had completely forgotten we don't have a motive."

Maya smiled proudly at him. "I wouldn't expect any less from Nick's protégé," she congratulated him. Apollo once again felt his face start to heat up. _Protégé? Did Phoenix really see me as his protégé? _

His moment in the limelight was cut short however, when he noticed that Edgeworth's confidence had returned. "Uh oh. You actually have an answer, don't you?"

"Much like Mr. Wright, I see you too underestimate me. You two truly are alike." He scoffed.

It took all Apollo could to not shout back at him about disrespecting the dead. A dead _friend _no less. He felt a hand lightly touch his back and he turned to Maya. Although she didn't say anything, her eyes were read loud and clear. _Drop it. It's not worth it._

"Although I will admit we have no _solid _motive," Edgeworth continued, having either not seen Apollo's aggressive body language or chosen to ignore it, "it is possible that Ms. Wright and her father had a strife of sorts. Perhaps he had refused to pay for next year at school?" He pondered, casting side glance over to Trucy sitting in the defendant's chair.

_We both know Phoenix would never do that,_ Apollo scowled silently. Phoenix would have given up the entire world for Trucy, Apollo knew that for sure. He had never met a father who loved his daughter more than Phoenix loved Trucy.

He also knew that Trucy would never let a stupid argument get the better of her emotions; especially not the point of violence. Although Trucy knew that Phoenix wasn't her real father, you would have never guessed by the way she looked up to him. The two had a relationship that he was pretty sure only a handful of people in the world would understand. He wasn't even sure if he fully understood it himself, but he knew it was deep bond and knew that either one of them would do anything to protect the other.

Edgeworth was just pulling things out of thin air, and Apollo knew it.

"That's a rather flimsy argument," Apollo rebutted. "I expected more from such a legendary prosecutor such as yourself."

"I… admit it is not the strongest of arguments." Edgeworth conceded. "But as you should know Mr. Justice, when a suspect very clearly is guilty a motive is hardly needed."

"Mr. Edgeworth brings up a good point." The Judge nodded. "As a result, I will make an exception and say that a solid motive will not be needed for any potential ruling for this case."

_But she didn't do it!_ He wanted nothing more to yell that at the top of his lungs. Instead he chose to not receive the inevitable penalty and just reluctantly agreed with the Judge's decision.

"With all that out of the way, I would like call my next witness to the stand." Edgeworth proclaimed.

The grand double doors of the courtroom opened as if on cue and from the lobby a woman appeared. Tall and sleek, she wore a very formal outfit; a blue woman's tux hugged her body and her grey tie complimented her grey hair nicely. With a blue skirt, black leggings and expensive looking high heels, she had an air of importance about her.

A closer look at her face revealed telltale wrinkles- Apollo guessed she was in her early to mid-40's- but she wasn't unattractive. In fact, she seemed to glow when she smiled after she took her position at the witness stand.

"Name and occupation, please." Edgeworth ordered.

The woman giggled before she talked. "Felicia Foxx, field reporter." Her voice was calming and easy to listen to.

"Field reporter?" Apollo inquired. "As in, news work?"

In a flash, she pulled out a microphone from the large bag she had slung over her shoulder and spoke into it. "Ya got that right, Horn Head. Here, take my card." From her breast pocket she pulled out a small card and flung it in Apollo's direction with stunning force and accuracy. He almost didn't catch it because he was processing the "Horn Head" comment.

"What's it say Apollo?" Athena asked, leaning over to get a better look.

"'Felicia Foxx, field reporter for WOLF24 news,'" Apollo read, "the rest is just her contact information." He stuffed the card into his pants pocket.

"I can't help but notice your gloves, Ms. Foxx." Apollo observed. "I'm unsure if you are aware but no fingerprints were found on the murder weapon leading us to beli-"

His sentence was cut off by a loud "Objection!" and the sound of a hand slamming the bench from the other side of the room. "Mr. Justice!" Edgeworth scorned him. "I will not have you jump the gun so to speak and needlessly accuse my witness!"

Glancing sideways to hopefully see some support from his benchmates, Apollo's heart sank when he saw Athena and Maya giving him looks of confusion and shock. "Gotta agree with Edgeworth here, Apollo." Athena mused. "She hasn't even testified yet."

Apollo awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "I-I apologize Ms. Foxx. I was just trying to cover all my bases."

To his surprise, Felicia smiled warmly at him. "No offense taken, Horn Head." She held up a hand showcasing one of her black, cloth gloves. "You see, I have a nasty habit of picking and biting my fingers and nails. And, I'm not sure if this is breaking news to you, but my hands are on screen when I hold up my microphone."

Edgeworth huffed. "You see Mr. Justice? Ms. Foxx wears gloves to simply prevent herself from picking at her fingers."

"I see." Apollo nodded. "I apologize for my outburst, Ms. Foxx."

"Ms. Foxx," the Judge looked at her, seemingly dismissing the previous conversation, "am I to understand that you witnessed the moment of the murder?"

"That is correct, Your Honor." She smirked, twirling her microphone by the cord around her finger.

The Judge closed his eyes in contemplation. "Hm, I see. Then it appears that this trial is drawing to a close."

_No offense Your Honor, _Apollo thought with a chuckle, _but you should know by now this is never as simple as having a witness describe the moment of the murder._

"You ready, Apollo?" Maya seemed to be thinking aloud. "Something tells me this news reporter is going to be a tough nut to crack."

Grinning, Apollo crossed his arms. "Well good thing I'm a damn good nutcracker then."

The sound of the pounding gavel travelled throughout the room. "You may now begin your testimony, and Mr Justice, your cross examination."

"I was at the hotel next to that law office, the Gatewater," she began confidently. "I was doing a report on the newly refurbished and redecorated rooms."

"We have video proof that she was indeed at the Gatewater the day of the murder." Edgeworth added.

Nodding, Felicia continued. "It's as Red Coat says." Apollo couldn't help but snicker at Edgeworth's reaction to his new nickname. "I was doing a live interview with the manager that ended at about 11AM. After, I allowed my cameraman to go to the dining area to eat some complimentary food.

"As for me, I headed up upstairs to scope out a room for a segment I was going to do a few hours later. It was maybe 11:25 or so. I was taking a quick peak out the window when I saw the murder happen!"

"This sounds really familiar." Maya sighed with a sad laugh. Confused, Apollo made a mental note to ask her about it later.

"I saw that girl stab the man with the spiky hair!" She yelled, hurling a finger at Trucy with such force that any attorney would be impressed by her pointing prowess. "I was clearly very shaken by the event, but I headed back downstairs to rejoin my cameraman at around 11:55."

Wait, something doesn't add up. _She left a gaping hole in her story! _

"Hold it!" Apollo shouted. Man, that always felt so good. "Ms. Foxx, are you sure you saw the moment of the murder?"

"Are you doubting my testimony, Horn Head?" She sneered, pounding the microphone into the palm of her hand with a repeated motion. "Of course I saw the moment of the murder! Breaking news, honey, but you don't forget something like that."

"If that's the case," oh yes, he could feel it coming together. He could almost hear her shout of surprise as he slammed his hands onto the bench. "Why didn't you report the murder to the police?"

Her shout sounded exactly like he imagined it. He vaguely heard his companions compliment his deduction skills, but he was having too much fun appreciating the look of shock on Felicia's face. And Edgeworth's reaction was even better.

"My word, Mr. Justice!" The Judge gasped in genuine surprise. "Th-that is a very good point. Ms. Foxx, if you witnessed a murder, why wouldn't you immediately report it to the police?!"

"I-I-" she was frazzled with a red face and heavier breathing. "I-I can explain-"

"She's completely panicking Apollo!" Athena praised him with a toothy grin. "Great work!"

"M-Ms. Foxx!" Edgeworth shouted, a sliver of fear lining his voice. "If you have an explanation I'm sure we would all love to hear it!"

As quickly as Felicia had lost her composure. She took a deep breath, straightened herself out and once again spoke into her microphone. "This just in, sometimes people forget things." Apollo's own confidence plummeted when he heard the confidence in her voice.

"I forgot to mention I didn't know it was a murder until I saw all the police cars." She grinned wickedly.

"W-WHAAAAAAT!?" Apollo reeled back in shock, his bangs drooping for the millionth time in the past few days. Judging by the reactions of Maya, Athena and even Edgeworth, nobody saw that explanation coming. "Ms. Foxx! What do you mean you 'didn't know it was a murder'?"

"Yes, I am quite intrigued myself!" The Judge admitted, eyes wide like a child on Christmas day.

"I'm glad you asked!" She laughed, twirling the microphone again. "You see, that girl was wearing a magician's outfit. I figured that maybe they were practicing a magic trick. I had no idea that the blood I saw was real."

Silence. Not even a mutter or cough from the gallery. Everyone was seemingly in shock.

"O-objection!" Apollo stuttered. He scrambled to find words. "That's ridiculous, what kind of magic show uses fake blood!?"

"Objection!" Edgeworth shouted back, having regained his composure rather quickly. "That has no bearing on the case at hand!"

"Objection!" This time it was Athena's voice that rang out. Looking over he saw the yellow-suited attorney leaning over the bench a scowl on her face. "Mr. Edgeworth, you've seen Ms. Wright's magic shows! They're family friendly and would never involve any sort of blood!"

Edgeworth opened his mouth to respond, but a shout from Felicia interrupted him. "Wait! I've never seen this girls shows before. How am I supposed to know what her shows consist of?"

Silence again, although a shorter one this time. Edgeworth cleared his throat and spoke. "See, Mr. Justice? She has a perfectly sound reason to have assumed the blood is fake."

"As unusual as it is, I have to agree with Mr. Edgeworth." The Judge hummed.

Apollo could feel the sweat forming on his shoulder. _I wouldn't call it a sound reason, Your Honor. _"I- I agree." He conceded, even though he didn't really agree at all.

"Edgeworth has a point," Maya said, "but it seems really odd to me that she would just assume the blood is fake."

Nodding, Apollo agreed. "Yeah, but there's nothing we can do now to further that line of questioning." Or any line of questioning for that matter. The only hole he had found in Felicia's in testimony had led to a dead-end. _So much for being a great nutcracker._

"Well it appears that the defense has no further questions." The Judge's voice made Apollo sweat even more. "It appears that I have reached my verdict-"

"Objection!" Apollo was surprised to hear Maya's voice. "Your Honor, please hold out on delivering your verdict for one moment. Ms. Foxx's testimony about the murder was incredibly vague. Shouldn't a news reporter pay attention to every little detail?"

_You're a lifesaver Maya! _"I agree with Ms. Fey's statement." Apollo added quickly. "I would like to ask the witness to provide more detail on the murder and murderer."

"I see no issues with the defense's request. What say you, Mr. Edgeworth?" The Judge asked.

Edgeworth was leaned over his bench eyes wide in a comically upset fashion. "I… have no objections Your Honor." He huffed in disdain.

The judge pounded his gavel. "Ms. Foxx, will you please explain the murder in greater detail?"

"Sure thing, Your Honor." She agreed with a curt nod.

"I wasn't able to see the killers face, but I know for a fact that it's that girl over there. She was wearing the same outfit." She started. "The guy with the spiky hair was sitting as his desk when the girl snuck up and stabbed him through the throat.

"After the blow was struck, she reached under the desk and rummaged through a suitcase, pulling out some papers. And that's all I saw." She finished, crossing her arms.

_Suitcase? _Apollo thought._ She couldn't mean…_

"Ms. Foxx," Apollo started his questioning. "Are you positive it was a suitcase you saw the defendant going through?"

"Positive." She replied dryly.

_Good thing I have a piece of evidence that will positively prove you wrong_. He smirked and cast glances to Athena and Maya. The look in their eyes confirmed that they were thinking the same thing.

Reaching down, he pulled up the suitcase they found at the crime scene and placed it on the bench. "Would this be the suitcase you are referring to?"

"Why, yes it is." She sounded surprised.

Apollo crossed his arms and grinned. "That confirmation was just the thing I needed to poke a hole into this testimony!" He yelled with a vicious point towards the witness stand.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Edgeworth yelled. "What importance could this suitcase possibly have?!"

"This suitcase potentially carries the answers to this whole case!"

The gallery erupted in an uproar and Apollo couldn't help but feel smug about how off guard he caught Edgeworth. He was reminded how Phoenix would turn trials around and was saddened momentarily but it was quickly replaced with pride. He knew his boss would be proud of him.

"Order, order in the court!" The Judge yelled, pounding his gavel. "Awful pun aside, please explain yourself Mr. Justice!"

"Oh I gladly will." He held up the case again. "This suitcase was discovered near Mr. Wright's body. The thing is, neither Ms. Cykes nor I had ever seen this suitcase before."

"And of what importance is that?" Edgeworth asked, crossing his arms. "A suitcase in a law office is nothing new."

"Excellent point," Apollo nodded. "However, Ms. Cykes and I know the layout of the Wright Anything Agency like our own homes. He know everything that's in the building and where it is. This suitcase was alien to us."

"Perhaps it was the victim's personal suitcase that he brought between home and work." Edgeworth suggested.

Apollo shook his head. "Again, Ms Cykes and I are intimately familiar with the goings on at the Wright Anything Agency. That was not Mr. Wright's personal suitcase."

"What does any of this have to do with the murder?" The Judge asked.

"I'm glad you asked You Honor, because the answer is quite simple." He had them cornered now, no going back. "My point is, if Ms. Cykes and I didn't know of that suitcases existence, how could the dependent have possibly know about it!?"

"M-Ms. Wright!" The Judge stuttered, "Did you know of the existence of this suitcase?"

"No Your Honor, I've never seen it in my life." Trucy gasped, placing her hand over her mouth.

"You see!" Apollo slammed his hands on the bench. "She couldn't have gone through a case she didn't know existed!"

"Objection!" Edgeworth's voice rose above the muttering in the gallery. "Why does it matter if she knew the case existed? She could have simply gone through it because it was there."

Apollo steeled himself. _I guess it's time to propose my smoking gun and hopefully turn this case around_. "Mr. Edgeworth, it's not about the case itself but the contents of the case." The prosecutor raised a brow, but remained silent. "Your Honor, what I'm about to propose may seem preposterous, but please hear me out."

"Apollo, you're not going to suggest what I think you am, are you?" Maya asked.

"It's the only thing I _can _do, Maya." Apollo replied curtly.

"This contains newspaper and official documentation about a case from a few years ago." He said, taking a clipping out and scanning it on the screen to add it to the court record. "I'm sure you remember the case a few years ago that resolved the UR-1 incident?"

"Mmhmm." The Judge nodded. "How could one possibly forget?"

"What are you getting at, Mr. Justice?" Edgeworth asked curiously.

"We all remember that the real Bobby Fulbright had been dead for years and that is was the mysterious Phantom who had been taking his place, perfectly blending into society." Apollo continued. "It is my belief that Mr. Wright was involved in an investigation into the secret company that the Phantom was a part of.

"The papers in this case are splattered in blood, presumably from the bloodied glove, and clearly ruffled through, indicating that someone may have taken some papers from inside."

"And the point of this line of reasoning is?" Edgeworth asked in annoyance.

_Here it goes all, or nothing_. "What I'm thinking is, what if Mr. Wright found out too much. What if the company had to get rid of him and any documents about them? What if he was about to report his finding to higher ups?" He took a deep breath before continuing. "Your Honor, I would like to formally propose that a member of this company, after months if not years of spying on Mr. Wright, snuck into his law office and committed not only a murder but an act of political assassination!"

The gallery erupted into noise so loud it drowned out both the Judge's and Edgeworth's exclamation of surprise. Apollo was also vaguely aware of Felicia hurling curse words and shaking her fist furiously at him as she was escorted from the courtroom by the bailiff.

It the Judge a few more pounds of the gavel to regain order once again. "Mr. Justice, as outrageous of a theory it is, I cannot deny that it holds water. Mr. Edgeworth, have you anything to add?"

"I-you-" Edgeworth stuttered, once again leaning over his desk. "That's an absolutely ridiculous theory, Mr. Justice! Using nothing more than circumstantial evidence and conjecture! I'm-"

"But it's a theory nonetheless. A theory, which I may point out, would undeniably prove my client innocent."

"Mr. Justice I can see plainly that Mr. Wright was your mentor." The Judge concluded. "You have successfully brought up enough doubt about Ms. Wright's guilt. This trial will continue tomorrow to allow for one more day of investigation." He pounded his gavel one last time. "Court is adjourned."

As Maya and Athena congratulated him for a job well done, Apollo couldn't help but feel a tinge of dread. If this is really as deep as he thinks it is, he has a long uphill battle to find Phoenix's killer.

Eyyy boys it's update time! I've been in FFVII and FFXV hell the last few months, but I've recently gotten in a huge Ace Attorney mood.

3 pages of outline ended up being a 14 page, 4,000 word chapter. Things are starting to get interested, or at least I think so. Also, I realized I've meant briefcase instead of suitcase but it's too late for that and I'm too lazy to change it in previous chapters.

Thank you for your patience regarding this fic. I'm really looking forward to writing chapter 7 so the next update may be sooner than later!


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